Lucrative Deals Lost

Photos: Armstrong's Cycling Career

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UCI Confirms USADA Report, Strips Armstrong Titles

Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life by cycling's governing body Monday following a report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that accused him of leading a massive doping program on his teams. Photo: REUTERS.

The International Cycling Union, the sport's governing body known as UCI, acted following a damning report by U.S. antidoping authorities that said Mr. Armstrong was at the center of "a massive team doping scheme, more extensive than any previously revealed in professional sports history."

The UCI said it accepted the findings and punishments handed out by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which included stripping the 41-year-old Mr. Armstrong of all results dating to Aug. 1, 1998. That includes his record run of seven Tour de France wins from 1999 to 2005, and wins in other races including the Tour de Suisse and France's Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. He also was banned from competitive cycling for life.

The UCI's decision not to appeal the antidoping agency's verdict at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the highest court in sports, formally strips Mr. Armstrong of his titles.

"Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling, he deserves to be forgotten in cycling," UCI President
Pat McQuaid
said at a news conference in Geneva.

A lawyer for Mr. Armstrong didn't return messages seeking comment on the UCI's decision. Mr. Armstrong has continued to deny that he used performance-enhancing drugs. He said in August he would no longer fight the doping charges handed down by USADA.

USADA says its report, released Oct. 10, shows that Mr. Armstrong took part in a doping scheme on his way to his unrivaled success from 1999 to 2005. The report accused Mr. Armstrong, as head of the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team, of running "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen." It included sworn testimony from 26 people, including 15 riders, who described years of performance-drug use.

"This was a win-at-all-costs program," the UCI's Mr. McQuaid said, referring to the use of the banned hormone EPO by Mr. Armstrong's team.

The UCI will hold a meeting Friday to decide whether to seek the return of prize money won by Mr. Armstrong as well as to decide whether to award his Tour de France titles to other cyclists.

Christian Prudhomme, the race director of the Tour de France, has said he doesn't want the titles to be handed to anyone else given that the era was tainted by doping.

After Mr. Armstrong was banned from elite-level sports in August, the UCI asked USADA for an explanation of the charges against Mr. Armstrong, formerly cycling's biggest star. USADA responded to the UCI's request by compiling the lengthy report, which it called a "reasoned decision."

"Today, the UCI made the right decision in the Lance Armstrong case," USADA CEO Travis Tygart said in a statement. "Despite its prior opposition to USADA's investigation into doping on the U.S. Postal Service cycling team and within the sport, USADA is glad that the UCI finally reversed course in this case and has made the credible decision available to it.

The UCI's decision is another blow for Mr. Armstrong, who last week was dumped by his sponsors, including
Nike
Inc.,
RadioShack
Corp.
,
Anheuser-Busch InBev
NV and the makers of Trek bikes and Giro helmets.

Nike was particularly harsh, citing what it described as insurmountable evidence that Mr. Armstrong had participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade.

Oakley Inc., which has sponsored Mr. Armstrong for more than two decades, said Monday that it would sever its relationship with him. "When Lance joined our family many years ago, he was a symbol of possibility. We are deeply saddened by the outcome, but look forward with hope to athletes and teams of the future who will rekindle that inspiration by racing clean, fair and honest," Oakley said in a statement.

The equipment and apparel maker did say it would continue to support the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the cancer charity known as Livestrong. Mr. Armstrong, who was diagnosed with cancer in the 1990s and later declared cancer-free, stepped down as chairman of the foundation last week after the publication of USADA's report.

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